Short devotionals providing interesting Faith connections

I was dinking around a few months ago (aka playing Pickleball) and somewhat frustrated that I could not play better. Then, I heard that voice in my ear (no, its not an actual voice- it’s a nudging to your conscience- my heart if you will which I call ‘The Lord’). The Lord said, ‘In Me you live and move and have your being’. I laughed out loud since this is one my life verses from Acts 17:28. I smiled and realized that in this Pickleball context this means I was trying way too hard and not just letting the paddle do the work and having fun. After all- fun and exercise and community is what Pickleball means to me. 

While I cannot tell you I have miraculously become a middle aged Pickle phenom I can tell you that my game is improving and so is my fun quotient! In the next weeks of playing, the Lord graciously gave me my own private lessons with scriptures to go with. So I am sharing these with all you Pickleheads out there! Check back periodically as I will add content after lessons.

And back to the court… 

The acronym of Proverbs 4:20-23, AI, reminds us that God provides the ultimate intelligence. As we mediate on God's ways, God promises we will learn and grow in wisdom and knowledge and most importantly His love.  

Proverbs 4:20-23. 

Attend: My son, attend to my words; 

I: Incline thine ear unto my sayings.

For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.

• Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.

Multifactor authentication or MFA provides security by requiring at least two pieces of evidence before permitting access. So, to, in Christ, we have this 'extra layer' of security.

Something I have (possession)- Isaiah 53, 54. Messiah paid it All. When I take posession of God's provision of  salvation,  I have this protection-Shalom.

Something I know (knowledge)- Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) is the living Word. He gives this knowledge freely to all who ask. If we believe with our heart and confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord we can be Saved! Romans 10:9-10

Something I Am –  I am a child of the living God with eternal life. I am God inside minded.  Psalm 121, Joshua 1:8,9  1 John 4:4, 1 John 4:12,15,16, 17

How does God provide us supernatural direction in these crazy busy and distracted days we are living in?

With so much going on in the world- so much distraction, so much social media consuming our attention, besides our family, our relationships and our work, how do we know we can clearly hear from God? How can we even begin to talk to God anyway?  God has provided the answer in Psalm 27:4 , the roadmap for how, through the Holy Spirit,  we can hear God clearly, walk in His ways, grow in Him.  And…you guessed it, He has also reinforced the message in real life, in technology, something called DBI.

DBI (or Decibels per isotropic dB[isotropic) is the measure of how well an antenna focuses the energy source you are looking for. For those of you who do not know what an antenna is think of a metal rod or spike pointed in a particular direction so as to direct light or sound waves. “Back in the day’ we used antennas to get a great TV or Radio signal. SO if you have higher DBI you have that clear signal, sound, hearing, etc. And when you are focused correctly with this signal you obviously are very efficient. So good DBI means good signal, good connection, and efficiency. Pretty good deal.  

God has provided us His DBI, supernaturally, through His Holy Spirit who indwells us His children. The Holy Spirit calls,  guides, and directs us. How does He do that? Psalm 27:4 matches up perfectly to DBI:

Psalm 27:4

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may

· Dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to

· Behold the beauty of the Lord, and to

· Inquire in his temple.

First, He says to rest in Him, meditate in His presence and be real with Him. 

Next He says to just bask in that presence and let the love of God sink in as we begin to worship the creator of our souls. 

And lastly, He says to ask, to inquire with the confidence we are now hearing clearly!. 

The Holy Spirit provides us supernatural direction through His DBI or 'decibels'. 

SOS is known as a signal for  help, a distress signal. Some also say it means 'save our souls'.  God is our ultimate security system:

 Strength - Exodus 15:2

sOng -  Psalm 118:14

Salvation - Isaiah 12:2

  Resilience

The word vulnerability in Information Security depicts the likelihood of an organization to fall victim to a ‘bad guy’ (hacker, phishing attack, etc). 

It is not a matter of ‘if’ your organization will fall victim to a breach but ‘when’. 

All organizations are ‘vulnerable’ to attack.   How do organizations keep going knowing they are not impervious to attack? 

In the IT and Information Security World, the word ‘resilience’ answers this question. Information Security Resilience means you have a plan to survive these attacks, you contain the attack and keep going in the midst of them. Resilience also means you adjust your strategy given the environment- new ‘bad guys’ every day attempting to get through your firewalls and create malicious mayhem- and so you remain flexible, adjusting your program, remaining prepared.  

 God gives us His resilience; God  is our strength amidst the storm. God wants us to use His supernatural cyber toolkit to grow and thrive amidst  turbulent change.  What are God's tools?

First, resilience comes through faith in God. Faith gives us confidence knowing we can rely on, trust in God to accomplish His purposes for, in and through us.  Our hope in God equips us with His resilience.

Isaiah 33:6 - And he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge...

Psalm 37: 23-24 - The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand. 

Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Second, resilience comes by spending time with God. He molds and shapes us daily through prayer and spending time in the Bible.

Psalm 1:1-3 - Blessed is the man who ... delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.

Isaiah 40:31 - But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Psalm 119:28 - My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.

Proverbs 2:6-7 - For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. 

Third, resilience comes by relationships with others. Life can be very tough. Bad things happen. But its in our relationships with others who pray with and for us, support us and challenge us to grow closer to God that we will keep growing. And the most important relationship is with God, through Messiah Yeshua.

Proverbs 27:17 - Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens a friend's character.

Deuteronomy 31:12 - ...gather the people together...that they may hear, and..learn.  

We all have gotten the dreaded blue screen or been on the phone with the help desk only to hear those fateful words: "reboot your computer and maybe that will solve the problem". CtrlAltDelete.   

When life throws you a blue screen or you are at an impasse or you just want that detox, that 'defrag',  after a busy time, what does the bible help desk say?  Psalm 37 has it all- quick and easy too.  And best of all, you can always apply Psalm 37 even when things are going great. It is a great cleanse and boost-spirit soul and body!  The acronym is a good memory aid too.

TDCR - TrueDataCyberResilience, 

Psalm 37: 4-7

T - Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness.

D - Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.

C - Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

R - Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him

This is just a cute acronym reminder of God's reminder to always come to Him...

Matthew 7:7

• Ask, and it shall be given you; 
• Seek, and ye shall find; 
• Knock, and it shall be opened unto you

If you are not from New England, or have never heard someone  who has a thick Boston accent, this devotional may not be easily understood but read on!  One day, I was meditating on the promises in this scripture and all of a sudden I saw the letters for each section 'jump off the page'. I then realized that 'For Sure' with that thick Boston accent (For Sure -, 'Foah Shu(ah)) was precisely that acronym (and of course I was reminded how my parents would always remind me, whenever things looked difficult that 'For Sure' I could do this or that... Laugh, giggle but be reminded, For Sure, God has this! And if you don't quite get the 'ah' at the end, just remember that us folks from Boston remove the 'R" and replace it with 'ah'. Enjoy!

Isaiah 41:10

• Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will 
• strengthen thee; yea, I will 
• help thee; yea, I will 
• uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

This is another devotional with an acronym inside. God  stood in the gap for us by and through salvation through Yeshua, Jesus. As we look to God's salvation, we are directed by Him and can live for Him, blessing others.

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that 

• Good and
• Acceptable and
• Perfect will of God

One of the Hebrew meanings for waiting is bind together like strands of fabric tied together become a strong chord. Waiting means action- trusting in (binding in the embrace of, meditating upon, trusting in) God's promises, seeking after , spending time with him and in so doing,  taking steps each day to grow stronger through our relationship with Him. 

Lamentations 3:25

The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him

Psalm 27:4

One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.

Deuteronomy 4:29

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.

Jeremiah 29:13

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

  Negative words,  are not just a ‘bunch of hot air’. They can hurt, especially when self-inflicted.

N3 is a key ingredient in airbags. It decomposes on heating which causes the airbag to expand. Hot air is explosive just like negative words and thoughts.  God created us to remember we are His treasures and gave us His word to help combat those negative thoughts and words.

Have you ever been in a difficult situation, requiring solutions and where your only thoughts were scenarios repeated over and over with bad outcomes? Well I have been there-many times. One time I was speaking with my adult son when I was going through a really bad patch at work and I was explaining how every idea I had probably would not work. Then my son said, ‘Mom, do you hear yourself? You are repeating a negative narcissistic narrative.’ Well after proverbially picking myself up off the floor, sheepishly sensing my child was now the one giving me advice, I realized he was absolutely right. I was choosing to let my thoughts run rampant and just as importantly, with only failure as their common theme. So I went to the Bible for help and realized God has quite a few things to say about thoughts and yes, you guessed it from the Bible books beginning with N, how convenient.  

Numbers: This book details the tribe of Israel painstakingly counted in great detail as they prepared to enter the promised land. Each tribe was set apart for a specific and important purpose. Today, God cares about every detail of our lives and we are called according to His purposes. 

Nehemiah: This book details Nehemiah’s efforts to rebuild the temple wall in only 52 days. Nehemiah, in the ‘world’s eyes’ was just a regular laborer- he was the cupbearer by trade. But yet, God used Nehemiah- imperfect as he was- as Nehemiah sought God in prayer and by faith carried out the plan, as God’s leader on the scene. 

Nahum: This book details God’s vengeance upon the city of Nineveh but more importantly reminds us that God fights our battles, even when we do not see it.

So the next time you find yourself, as I do, repeating those negative narcissistic narratives, replace them with these thoughts that have eternal and practical power for today:

Nahum 1:7 - The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

Nahum 2:2 - The Lord will restore.

Numbers 6:24-26 - The Lord bless you and keep you;  the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

Nehemiah 8:10 - The joy of the Lord is your strength.